Fifth and Sixth Schedules

Background and evolution

Colonial rule treated many tribal regions as "excluded" or "partially excluded" areas under the Government of India Act 1935, keeping them outside ordinary provincial laws. The Constituent Assembly replaced this with two models. For the hill areas of the North-East, the Bordoloi sub-committee recommended strong self-government through elected councils, which became the Sixth Schedule. For tribal areas elsewhere, the Assembly chose a lighter model, the Fifth Schedule, which keeps state administration but gives the Governor powers to protect tribal interests.

The difference reflects history. North-Eastern hill communities had distinct customary institutions and limited contact with plains administration, while tribal areas in central India were more mixed with non-tribal populations and more integrated into provincial systems.

Key features and provisions

• Fifth Schedule areas: declared by the President, in consultation with the Governor, in ten states including Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh.
• Governor's role: can direct that an Act of Parliament or the state legislature shall not apply, or shall apply with changes, to a Scheduled Area; can make regulations for peace and good government, especially on land transfer and money lending, after consulting the Tribes Advisory Council; reports to the President on administration.
• Tribes Advisory Council: up to 20 members, about three-fourths of them Scheduled Tribe members of the state assembly.
• Sixth Schedule: creates Autonomous District Councils, with up to 30 members (most elected, up to four nominated by the Governor), for a five-year term.
• Council powers: make laws on land, forests (other than reserved forests), shifting cultivation, village administration, inheritance, marriage and social customs; run village courts for disputes among tribal members; levy certain taxes.
• Link to funds: grants under Article 275(1) support development in these areas.